Rise of the Dog's of War
by Saerry Snape
Summary: It is 3135. Whilst other events occur elsewhere in the Inner Sphere, things go from good to bad for the Kell Hounds. But remember...things always look worst before the dawn...
1. 5 July 3135, Kell Hound HQ

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Mechwarrior/Battletech. I do, however, own my grand total of 16 CBT and 14 MW books as well as my 50-odd miniatures…

**Kell Hound Headquarters, Arc-Royal**

**Arc-Royal Theatre, Lyran Alliance**

**5 July 3135**

"_Hell!_"

Heat washed heavily in on my cockpit as my _Ares_ was knocked back a few kilometers by the force of STRK missiles crashing into it. Cursing violently, I punched the intercom on and snarled viciously at my opponent.

"For the love of your_ head_, Aidan, don't hit me like that again!"

A laugh echoed back at me through my neurohelmet, the sound made scratchy by the com system.

"Don't whine at me if your little 'Mech can't handle mine, Tori."

I snarled – this time in actuality – and turned my _Ares_ so I could pin my crosshairs on Aidan's 'Mech. He was piloting a _Blood Asp_, a ninety-ton monster that outweighed my sixty-ton _Ares._ Probably outweighed me in firepower too but I wasn't about to admit that little morsel of information.

"Oh, wanna play again, do we?" asked Aidan over the com.

"Play with this, _surat_," I spat at him. I kicked the _Ares_ into its top speed and charged straight at the hulk of the '_Asp_. My fingers descended down to rest on the triggers that would send my entire weapons system at him just as he started moving.

One good thing about my sixty-toner is it can move. The _'Asp,_ on the other hand, doesn't make speed that well.

Aidan turned his torso towards me as he began to move and I could just see his fingers dancing over the trigger of the Gauss Rifle I knew he was equipped with. 'Course, I was intending to slam him before he got a shot off at me.

Knowing how long it took the Rifle to reload was good information to know.

I was close enough that I could read the 'Mech's model number to the right of the cockpit when I punched my triggers and let loose on him. The ATM spat into the air as the machine guns on either arm shot fire and metal into the _'Asp_'s torso. My two small lasers and the one medium raked armor off the monstrosity, sending it spinning to the ground as ash. The missiles and guns sent more armor off and made the right arm spark as I spun the _Ares_ away.

Sweat broke over my skin as the heat built up from my attack washed over my cockpit and I violently swore from it. Using an alpha strike wasn't my preferred fighting method but when I got pissed off enough, I let loose with it.

Turning the _Ares_ about, I slammed the machine gun triggers down and spat metal into the _'Asp_'s broad back. It's torso spun towards me and it started to turn but by the time it got its weapons into striking distance I was on the other side of it.

Flicking the com up, I shot, "Having trouble, Aidan?"

"Shut up, Tori," he spat back. "God, I hate this machine!"

"I told you a ninety-toner wasn't a good idea," I said matter-of-factly as I watched my lasers recharge. "But will you listen to me? No, of course not."

"I said _shut up!_"

"Ooo," I muttered to myself as Aidan shut his com off. "I think I struck a nerve."

The _'Asp_'s torso rumbled around and I heard the alarm go off that signaled it had a lock on me. I let loose with my machine guns and lasers again with a half-lock on him as his Gauss Rifle powered up then spat a silver ball of energy out at me.

Swearing, I swung the _Ares_ around and down, sending it crashing into the ground. Alarms screamed at me as the armor on the right arm was crushed to nothing but the Gauss blast missed me. I had myself up a moment later and swung my crosshair around so it landed on his torso. Letting loose another wash from the ATM, I kicked the _Ares_ back up to speed and did something Aidan probably didn't expect.

I started running away.

Knowing he'd be confused and would sit there for a few minutes trying to puzzle out what I was doing, I didn't worry about bobbing and weaving. When I heard the whine of his STRK missiles, however, I decided this tactic would be a good idea.

One bob and two weaves had me turned around and heading back toward him. The _'Asp_ was walking slowly towards me and I figured Aidan would think I was being suicidal.

Of course, I knew that the center torso of his _'Asp_ had taken a bad beating and one more major hit would put the behemoth out of commission. Aidan would expect me to fire at him, but I had another idea. One he wouldn't expect.

I took a blast from his two lasers for my plan but it worked beautifully. Judging my distance carefully, I waited until I was close enough to him…and fired my jump jets. My _Ares_ hopped up into the air and the _'Asp_ just couldn't move fast enough to get out from under me.

I came down right on top of him, crushing his Gauss rifle into nothing and smashing what was left of his torso armor. One of the _Ares_' feet smashed in the cockpit and crushed armor on the shoulder before bouncing off. I landed hard and stumbled but the neurohelmet fed my sense of balance into the gyro and I was up and running before the 'Mech's reactor went off.

Shards of the _'Asp_ pinged across the _Ares_' cockpit and I grinned widely before I reached up and shut down the simulator. Immediately all my screens went dark and the coolant that had been rushing through my cooling vest faded away. I unplugged the neurohelmet slowly, placing it back above the command couch before unhooking the safety webbing – which wasn't need in the Sim but did make it more realistic.

As I climbed out of the Sim, I heard Aidan cursing from the one beside me. He obviously hadn't taken my beating him _again_ very well.

Standing there in only a cooling vest and a pair of shorts, I listened to Aidan in amusement and waited for him to pull out of his own Sim. As I stood there, my cousin decided to pop up and see how we'd done in the Sims.

"How'd the new system work?"

I turned and grinned at him before replying, "Great. Felt like actually being in a 'Mech rather than just a Sim."

"Good. So what's the twerp grumbling about?"

I laughed brashly at that and got an odd look before I responded.

"I DFA'd him."

My cousin laughed merrily at that and made much commotion about it – mainly slapping his thigh several times. He was still doing this when Aidan, looking quite perturbed, finally made it out of his Sim.

"I hate you," he snarled at me, dark curls clinging to his forehead as he glared venomously. If looks could kill, I'd have been pulp right then.

Thankfully looks can't kill and I wasn't dead. So instead of being dead, I grinned at him and said, "Hey, all's fair in love and war."

"That's a load of crap."

"Actually it is," said my cousin. "But beyond your little argument, how was the new system?"

The question took Aidan's ire off of me and pooled it into attention for my cousin. He smiled politely and said, "It was perfect, sir. Just like being in a 'Mech – at least I figure so."

"It is," I said with confidence, which made Aidan level another glare at me. I just grinned annoyingly back at him, knowing that I had more experience with real BattleMech's since I was five than he had had since he'd turned eighteen.

Having the commander's of two mercenary units as parents and another as a cousin had its benefits.

"So," I asked, turning towards my cousin, "how's business?"

My cousin just grinned in response, which I took as a sign of good business. That was generally how he said business in his company was good. William Baxter was an odd man but his Outraiders were some of the best you could buy – and bought they were. Last I'd heard, Will and his 'Raiders were hired by some small company on Odessa to fend off a band of pirates. Apparently it hadn't taken much as they were back within five weeks of heading out.

Giving Will an amused look, I turned to Aidan and said, "Next time run a lighter 'Mech. That _'Asp_ has got the power but it doesn't have good speed. If you didn't notice, my _Ares_ was running circles around you."

Aidan just snorted and glared before turning and stalking off. I sighed as I watched him go then said to Will, "He just never learns."

"Still thinks bigger's better?" asked William as we turned and started to walk in the general direction of my quarters.

"Same old Aidan," I responded. "I'm surprised he didn't take one of the programmed _Atlas'_ into battle. Or one of the _Daishi_'s."

"Hmm. He was running the _Blood Asp_, wasn't he?"

I nodded and replied, "Yeah. _Monster_, it's called. And what a monster it is. For a second or two I thought my _Ares_ was going to be sheet metal."

William frowned and gave me a funny look at that.

"I don't remember an _Ares_ being programmed into the Sims."

"It wasn't till I put it there. It's kind of my 'Mech, being as I've got it password protected."

A glint started in William's blue eyes and he said, "Bet I can crack it."

I laughed at that as I thumbed the switch to open the door to my room.

"If you can break my password, I'll eat Father's beard."

"Now, now," said William with a laugh as he followed me into my room. "Uncle Thomas would find that rather annoying. It's a well known fact that he likes his beard."

I snorted at that then proceeded to strip off my cooling vest, revealing the skin-tight shirt I'd worn underneath it. The garment was drenched with sweat due to the heat system in the Sim and my shorts weren't in much better condition.

Grabbing up a pair of black leather pants that had been a birthday gift from William and a baggy T-shirt, I slipped into my cubicle of a bathroom to change. When I emerged a few minutes later and tossed my sweat-soaked shirt and shorts into my makeshift laundry basket, I found William seated on my bed. He had a book in his hands and was giving me a very odd look that was annoying.

"What?" I asked snappishly as I sat down at the other end of the bed and tugged on a pair of socks.

"You have a book on the Clans."

"Yeah. So?"

There was a silence in the room that was only broken by the sound of me lacing up my boots then William spoke again.

"Why?"

"'Cause I find them interesting," I snapped as I stood up. Jerking the book from his hands, I returned it to its spot on my shelf then left before my cousin could browse at my other reading material. I don't think he'd have found it very reassuring to know that half of what I read was on the Clans.

As I strode away from my room with William hurrying to catch up behind me, I thought of what my parents thought of my little obsession with the Clans. My mother was of the same opinion as William but she hadn't attempted to thwart it thanks to my father, who thought of them in about the same manner as me. I'd inherited my father's stubborn nature and my parents knew from that fact that they'd never be able to change my mind on much.

They had tried once before when they'd tried to get me away from becoming a mercenary like them and the rest of my family. My mother was already intending to hand over the reins of her company to her second-in-command once they returned from their current mission on New Exford so she could spend more time with me and my younger siblings. Try to keep my sibs from turning Merc, she claimed.

Seems it's a bit late to keep me from that fate.

I've always been obsessed with BattleMech's. My father took me out in his _Wolfhound_ when I was five and I've loved them ever since. Mother blames him for my love as she tried in vain to keep me away from them.

But when you've got two Merc company commanders as parents you just can't avoid 'Mech's.

My younger siblings weren't as exposed as I was since my mother learned from that mistake. She kept them as far from 'Mech's as she could and kept me from discussing them. Just so little Justin and Lividia wouldn't turn out like their big sister.

Humphf. As though she could stop our bloodline from finding 'Mech's! We've been Mercenaries since before the FedCom Civil War! 'Mech's and Merc commands are just in our blood.

"Hey, Vic, slow down! Victoria!"

I sighed and slowed down so William could catch up with me without running. Despite being twelve years older than me, we were both the same height. 'Course, what was average for me as a female was short for him as a male.

At 5'4 ½, I'm leanly muscled and fairly skinny with shoulder-length, wavy chocolate brown hair that frizzed in heat or rain and expressive gray eyes. My complexion could only be described as pale and it wasn't from lack of sunlight – it just was so. Lips that I'm told would be sensual if I didn't constantly have them twisted into a smirk round out my oval face and give me an appearance that's turned more than a few heads.

Opposite me, William's 5'5 exactly with about the same muscle mass as me. He's built stocky, however, which is something he inherited from his father and not from the blood we share through his mother – my aunt. His hair is the same color as mine, only it masses in curls that give him the look of a Chia Pet, an old plant growing device created ages ago on Terra. Blue eyes that are generally opaque offset his dark-colored, square-jawed face with its rough line of stubble that seems to always be there. He's turned a few heads as well and likely has a few illegitimate children wandering around on more than a couple of planets.

"What?" I asked irritably as he caught up, turning to glare at him.

William blinked then sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose before saying, "Look, I'm sorry for blowing up on you. It's just…the Clans are bad news, Victoria. You know that."

"They fight honorably," I spat back at him.

"Honor!"

"Yes, honor," I said stonily. "Father taught me that honor is important."

"Maybe. But if you hadn't noticed, most of them haven't stuck with that."

"A few small incidents reported during the war with them don't count, Will!"

"Small! A bunch of Falcon's got toasted because they ignored their supposed honor."

Growling, I rounded on my cousin and hissed, "Look, let's not argue about this. I don't want to drag Aidan into the Sims again just so I can unleash my anger and I don't need to be angry when I go report on how good the new systems worked to Father. You know how he'll get if I am."

"Yeah," said William, "I know. Just be careful, Vic. The Clans are bad news."

I chose to ignore that comment and simply forced a smile at my cousin before turning and continuing on towards the main 'Mech Bay. My father was supposed to be there today overseeing the work on his company's 'Mech's. Their last mission had beaten them up pretty badly and the smaller 'Mech's in their outfit had just barely made it back. I'd heard that one of their _Uller_'s had nearly lost both its legs and _had_ lost its left arm as well as most of the armor off that side. The pilot was also lucky his 'Mech had survived as it had earned a gash in its side that a well-aimed laser could have hit the machine's reactor through.

We made the walk to the 'Mech Bay in an uncomfortable silence, William and I. I was sad that such a little thing like the Clans had come between us but I should have known. His family on his father's side had lost a good bit of itself to the Clans over the years and they'd never forgiven them for it.

Why they held that grudge for so long escaped me but hey, if they wanted to hold a grudge, more power to them.

Our arrival in the Bay didn't garner much attention – and I hadn't expected it to. The Tech's were too busy trying to repair the 'Mech's in my father's company to notice us and the few pilots that were present were either talking to the Tech's or shooting the breeze.

We found my father right where I knew he'd be, which was sitting in the cockpit of his _Wolfhound_. He seemed to be pulling various system's up then yelling down to the Tech's who were standing on the scaffolding around the '_Hound_'s right leg. I could see the armor on the leg had been shredded down to the myomer muscles and winced, knowing one more hit on that leg would have had my father's 'Mech downed on the battlefield.

Waving to the Tech's, I left William to talk to them and made my way up onto the scaffolding. At the top of it, I jumped up and grabbed at a small hook in the _'Hound_'s armor. Catching it, I heaved myself up and proceeded to make my way up the side of the 'Mech in a rather spider-like fashion.

Once I reached the open cockpit, I swung halfway inside and wedged one boot in a space between two consoles. With one hand steadying myself, I knocked on the top of a console with the other and gained my father's attention.

Now, my father is a tall, silent man in his late forties with auburn hair and a deceptively youthful face. That face is partially hidden by the scruffy beard he insists on keeping despite Mother's best efforts to relieve him of it but is offset by his sharp gray eyes. Most would think he's not as brilliant as he is and he promotes that thought with vigor. It allows him to fade into the shadows and surprise people, he says.

And surprise is the best thing Thomas Kell does.

"Hello, pet," he said at the sight of me, his gray eyes warm and welcoming. "How was the Sim? Did William's update make it any more realistic?"

"Loads," I replied. "Now we can actually get good heat in there as well as a well-working coolant system. He's also got it rigged so you feel every jar and bump."

"Wonderful. Now…how badly did you beat Aidan this time?"

"Father!"

He smiled warmly at me and I couldn't help but return it. Those smiles were hard to resist and I should know. They're what got my mother to marry him.

"So? How badly?"

"I DFA'd him."

Thomas blinked then eyed a system screen as it flicked on and off before asking, "What were you both running?"

"He was running the _Blood Asp_ and I pulled up the _Ares_ I logged into the system."

"Good Heavens, child. You butchered him, didn't you?"

I shook my head and replied, "Not really. He slammed me hard enough that I had yellow armor all over the place. My right arm ended up in red but that was because I grounded myself dodging his Gauss Rifle."

Thomas shook his head at that then flipped the switch that shut off the _Wolfhound_'s engine.

"The things you do, child, the things you do…"

"I'm your daughter, remember?" I shot at him with a grin.

"I know," he shot back, smiling at me. He then reached out to lightly ruffle my hair and said, "My Victoria, all grown up and looking for a fight."

"Not yet. But soon."

My father laughed and climbed out of the cockpit with me, daring me to race down the side of the 'Mech as we stood atop it. I, of course, accepted his challenge and very nearly ended up beating him down. Another few seconds lead and I'd have done it.

But I didn't and it didn't matter.

The Tech's smiled at our antics whilst William nearly had a heart attack at the sight of the commander of the Kell Hounds and his eldest daughter racing down the side of the _Wolfhound._ He looked like he was going to give us a scolding but apparently decided against it when he saw the breathless yet happy expressions on our faces.

Shaking his head, he said, "You two amaze me sometimes."

"Nice to see you too, William," said my father as he flung an arm across my shoulders and then his nephew's. "Now come. I'm starved and I bet my little 'Hounds feel the same way. Join us for dinner, Will?"

"Don't mind if I do, Uncle Thomas."

"Very well then! Dinner it is!"

William and I laughed as we allowed my father to march us from the 'Mech Bay.

Little did I know this would be one of the last times I'd be able to enjoy the company of my father and cousin.

**Author's Note**

If I get something wrong, please for the love of Kerensky, correct me. Be it a 'Mech name or a location or even how a type of weapon acts. If it is wrong, help me make it right. Thanks.

_saerry_


	2. 7 July 3135, Kell Hound HQ

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Mechwarrior/Battletech. I do, however, own my grand total of 16 CBT and 14 MW books as well as my 50-odd miniatures…

**Kell Hound Headquarters, Arc-Royal**

**Arc-Royal Theatre, Lyran Alliance**

**7 July 3135**

Two days after William's arrival at Headquarters, my mother returned with her company and handed the reins over to her second-in-command in a small ceremony. To our dismay, a call came in right as we'd begun to congratulate Captain Kym Corrigan on her new command.

"Thomas, you shouldn't leave. I have a bad feeling about this."

My father smiled down at my mother and bent to kiss her forehead.

"Don't worry, love. It'll be fine."

"Thomas…"

"Hush," said Thomas, drawing Maureen Kell into his arms. I stood there and watched them, my tall, auburn-haired father and my 5'1 mother, whose black hair was cropped close to her head so as not to impede the sensors in her neurohelmet. She looked up at him with her pale green eyes that stared from a face nearly identical to my own.

"Please, Thomas. Don't…"

My father hushed her with his hand and said, "I've already accepted the job, Mauri. And you know I never back out of a job."

Maureen nodded and kissed him gently on the lips. Her hands lingered on his shoulders as they pulled away from each other and this sent alarm bells ringing in my head.

My mother's worry was not a good sign.

I gave him a hug before he left for the 'Mech Bay, my arms entwined about him along with those of my siblings. Ten-year-old Justin clung to his waist whilst four-year-old Lividia hugged his pants leg and whimpered about Papa going away again. He assured her he'd be back before he hefted her into our mother's arms then winked at Justin and me as we stood together, my arms wrapped around my little brother's neck.

William, in a surge of brashness, volunteered to accompany my father with his Outraiders. The 'Raiders probably wouldn't like the fact that they'd only get twenty percent of the pay and whatever salvage but William would sort them out and there'd be no worry.

Except for my mother's, that is.

Mother took Lividia off to bed but Justin and I stayed and watched as our father's company, the Hounds of Hell, and William's Outraiders loaded their 'Mech's up. There was some tweaking of instruments done by the Tech's and then the 'Mech Bay was four lance's smaller.

Our father saw us as he climbed into his DropShip, the _Phelan_, and waved before he vanished inside. Justin leaned back against me from where he sat between my legs and whispered, "He's not coming back, is he?"

I looked down at my little brother, my throat too tight to speak from a sudden surge of fear. Instead of answering him, I just wrapped my arms around him and hugged him close. His arms clenched on mine and I felt him shake as the tears came.

Already we were in mourning for someone not yet dead.

Two and a half weeks later the report came in. The Outraiders had been decimated upon landing, their force of a lance and a half of heavy and medium 'Mech's set upon by a company of assault 'Mech's. They didn't stand long against that assault.

The Hounds of Hell, which was made up of two lance's and a half, had lasted longer than the Outraiders but in the end they too had succumbed to defeat. A _Wolfhound_ was reportedly the last 'Mech standing and it had gone down in a blaze whilst charging an _Atlas_.

Lividia's piercing shrieks and Justin's sniffling tears drowned my mother's cries of pain out as they rang through the hallways and corridors. I myself fled from my quarters upon receiving the news from a pilot who'd been present when the report had arrived.

I fled, not to my mother and siblings sides, but to the 'Mech Bay. Curled up in the space where my father's _Wolfhound_ had once stood before, I sat in the dust on the floor and cried. I cried for the loss of my father, who had taught me of honor and had instilled in me my love for BattleMech's. And I cried for the loss of my cousin, who's only wrongdoing had been volunteering to follow his uncle.

As I sat there on the floor, tears streaming down my face, I wondered what would become of the Kell Hounds now. My mother would not want the command and she would never allow me to take it, not when I had no battle experience. Father's sister Catherine was also out, as she abhorred the family legacy that had stolen her only son from her – now in truth as he was dead. And Jacob Baxter, my uncle-in-law, would destroy the Kell Hounds if he took command.

So who would lead now?

Who would lead now if no Kell could stand up?

My mother, it seemed, already had an idea of who should lead the Kell Hounds now. By the time the sun rose the next day, Major James Hilton, commander of the First Kell Brigadiers, the second Kell Hound company, was in command.

This news sent me into a rage and I made sure my mother knew of my ire.

"How could you do this? You let that mongrel of a man take control of the Kell Hounds!"

"He's the best suited for the job," said my mother calmly, not looking up from her noteputer.

"Best suited!" I shouted, waving my arms wildly. "He nearly ran the Brigadiers into the ground during their last mission! You know Father was going to get rid of him soon and put Captain Saul in his place!"

"Well he's not now!"

I took a step back from her then narrowed my eyes into angry slits.

"You will run the Kell name into the ground by doing this, you fool," I snarled. "We'll die!"

"We've survived since your grandfather rejoined his uncle Morgan and we will continue to do so after!" shouted my mother, rising to her feet.

" 'We?' " I repeated. "You've done nothing! You're not even a _Kell_, woman!"

"Don't speak to me in that tone, young lady!"

"I'll speak to you any way I please!"

We stood there for a long moment, glaring at each other across the main living area of the quarters she and my father had shared.

"Get out!" she finally snapped, her eyes flashing. "Just get out!"

I didn't deign to respond to her shout. I just turned and left, leaving the door wide open behind me. As I stormed down the corridor, fully intent on climbing into a Sim, loading up a _Daishi_ and going on a shooting spree, I was halted.

Major James Hilton stood in my path, a superior smirk on his face. At 6'1 with close-cropped black hair just going gray and dark blue eyes, he was forty-four, five years younger than my father was – _used to be_ – and was, to my dismay, utterly intent on having me. My mother had told me time and time again that it was a smart match but my father had known better._ He_ knew Hilton's true nature – knew that the man had wanted to control the 'Hounds since he'd joined them.

Now he had his command.

He commanded the Kell Hounds, the company whose command was my _blood right!_

"Hello, Victoria," he said, lust showing clearly in his eyes.

"That will be _Miss_ Victoria to you, _Major._" I sneered his title, sincerely hoping my hate for him showed clearly in my eyes. Father had told me once that hate was once of the worst emotions to concentrate upon.

But for Hilton…for Hilton I threw my father's words into the nearest piece of artillery and shot it as far away as possible.

"Very well, _Miss Victoria_," purred Hilton, turning what I had wanted to be a difficulty for him into a jibe at me. He then smirked and asked, "What is your opinion of my new command, hmm?"

Rage burned through me at the sound of his words and his voice. My arm curled back without my consent and it snapped forward, striking him hard on the cheek and leaving a mark of my hand there.

I spat on him then as my blood boiled through my veins.

"You are not worth a tick on a _surat_, Hilton," I hissed at him. "You are _dezgra_ and not worth licking the mud from my boots."

"Clan-loving scum," spat Hilton, one hand pressed to his stricken cheek. "Who are _you_ to judge _me_?"

I glowered at him then lifted my chin, gray eyes focusing my hatred for him into his eyes.

"I," I said slowly, "am a _Kell_. You would do well to remember that."

I turned on a booted heel and was fully intent on walking away from him when he spat, "And you would do well to remember who is in charge of the _Kell Hounds_ now, you little wench!"

"You will not command them for long," I said softly, not caring if he heard me or not.

I had made my promise to overthrow him then and there. A promise made to my deceased father and to my grandfather Major Christian Kell, who had taught my father of honor in the way only a Combine raised soul could.

I would not let Hilton destroy the Kell Hounds!

I will die before I allow my great-uncle Morgan's creation to go down in flames!

Even if it took waiting until Justin was ready to take command of the 'Hounds, I would fight Hilton with all the will that was within me. And there was a _great_ amount of will within me.

As I walked towards my quarters, a frightening thought suddenly came to me.

Hilton would not dare strike out against me, not when I could easily kill him in his sleep thanks to my training with Guy Malthus, a Jade Falcon warrior my father had claimed as a bondsman before I was born. Guy had originally resented his place within Kell Hound Headquarters but he had come to respect my father. When he had been asked to train me in hand-to-hand combat – Guy's specialty – he had accepted.

This acceptance had created a bond between the two of us; one that Hilton knew existed as well. Not only would I kill him if he struck at me but if he succeeded in killing me (the chances were slim but anything's possible), Guy would demand a Trial of Grievance. I doubt the Trial would commence due to the fact that the 'Hounds were Spheroids but Guy would likely push it until something happened to Hilton.

But Hilton striking at _me_ wasn't what I feared.

I was afraid that he would murder my brother and little sister, leaving only me to carry on the Kell line. My aunt Catherine had sworn to never bear another child after her son had turned Mercenary and I knew she would keep to her word.

She'd inherited the same stubbornness my father and I had.

Coming to a complete standstill in the corridor, I knew then what I had to do. Shaking at the realization that Hilton would kill my siblings without shuddering, I broke into a run. The sound of my boots hitting the ferrocrete floors echoed back to me off the walls and my heartbeat pounded heavily in my ears as I ran as thought for my life.

I slid down the railing of a stairwell past a Tech who stared after me as I took off sprinting at the bottom of the stair. Another stairwell had me on the floor I wanted and I rushed to the end of the main corridor, flinging myself into the door that lay within the small alcove at its end.

"Guy! Open the _stravag_ door!"

The door opened and the tall, graying countenance of my combat teacher looked down at me. Worry and surprise showed in his brown eyes and then he spoke in the calm, serene voice that had more than a few times put me to sleep when I was younger and feared for my mother and father's return.

"You learn my tongue well, Victoria Kell," he said. "But what brings you to my door with such shouting?"

"You've heard that son of a _surat_ Hilton was given command of the 'Hounds, right?"

Guy ignored my using contractions with Clan slang – as he had done since I'd learned the slang – and nodded, replying, "I have heard. What does this news have to do with you arriving so wildly at my door?"

"I'm afraid, Guy," I confessed, not afraid to let fear cloud my voice in front of the Clansman. "I'm afraid he'll hurt Justin or Lividia to get to me."

The Jade Falcon's brown eyes darkened with anger at that and he spat, "_Freebirth!_ Your father feared this. He told me many times that he did not trust this Major James Hilton."

He then scowled and said, "Your mother will not listen to you I take it."

I shook my head and replied, "No! She won't! It's as though she doesn't care!" A thought came to me suddenly and I added in a breathless voice, "Guy…what if _she_ betrayed Father and William to the pirates they were going after!"

Guy frowned and rubbed at his chin, where there was a day's growth of beard. He then looked down at me and said, "We shall simply watch for now, Victoria Kell. If your sibs are indeed in danger, then we shall protect them."

"And if my mother was the one that betrayed Father and William?"

"Then that _dezgra_ woman shall be challenged by _me_," growled Guy. "And I assure you, Victoria Kell, that she will not defeat me, Star Captain Guy Malthus of the Jade Falcon's, in single combat."

I smiled up at the bondsman and said, "Thank you, Guy."

"You are a noble warrior, Victoria Kell. I am proud to follow you."

"Then let me assist in your following," I said, pulling an old switchblade my father had given me from a pocket, flicking it open. Reaching out, I took the Jade Falcon's wrist and lifted enough of the bondcord to get the blade underneath it.

The cords snapped easily under my well honed blade and I dropped his wrist as they fell to the floor.

"You are no longer a bondsman of the Kell Hounds, Star Captain Guy Malthus of the Jade Falcon's," I said. "You are a warrior once more."

"And where shall I fight, Victoria Kell?"

"With me."

Guy smiled at that and nodded, saying simply, "Aff."

**Author's Note**

Next chapter of _Rise of the Dog's of War_ will possibly be finished by the end of February. Maybe.

_saerry_


	3. 26 July 3135, Kell Hound HQ

**Chapter 3**

**Kell Hound Headquarters, Arc-Royal**

**Arc-Royal Defense Cordon, Lyran Alliance**

**26 July 3135**

_Speak when you are angry and you will make the best speech you will ever regret._ – **Ambrose Bierce**

"You want _what?_"

"My own command," I repeated, frowning at Hilton. He sat haughtily behind my father's desk, which had been cleared of all his possessions. The sight of him there and all that was my father's gone sickened me.

Hilton gave me a disbelieving look then burst out laughing.

"A _command?_ Do you honestly think I'm going to give you a _command_, girl? You're mad!"

"Were I of the Clans, I would be a warrior now," I said coldly. "I have the training, I have the…"

Hilton's eyes darkened with rage and he slammed his fist down on to the desk, rattling a cup of pens as he interrupted me.

"We are not in the Clans, girl!" he shouted. "And you will not get a command here!"

"Fine. Then I'll just go somewhere else. I bet the Lancers or the Roughriders would love to have the daughter of Thomas Kell with them. Even the Dragoons might take me."

"Go then," spat Hilton. "It's not like you're needed here."

I bristled at that.

"What exactly is _that_ supposed to mean?"

"The Kell Hounds are _mine_ to command and as long as I do as such, you will _never_ find yourself in a 'Mech ever again. Unless, of course, you would do something for _me_."

My eyes narrowed as I understood what he was talking about.

This slime ball of a man still wanted me in his bed! Despite all of my words, he still hadn't gotten the fact that I'd rather _die_ than lie with him.

"Go to Hell, Hilton," I spat before turning on a heel and storming from the office. Guy turned towards me where he stood just outside the doorway, his brown eyes showing nothing of what he thought.

"I sense it did not go well."

"Neg," I spat as I began to stalk down the corridor. The Jade Falcon fell into step just behind me and I felt comforted knowing that he was at my back. There were many who despised the Clansman and had spoken out against my father taking him as a bondsman but Guy had proved himself to be a loyal man.

After nineteen years as my father's bondsman – as well as a friend – you would think some people would stop hating him.

"Now what?" I asked Guy as we walked into the large room that held the Kell Hounds simulators. I tried not to look at them and remember that it was my cousin's updates that had made them so much like an actual 'Mech cockpit instead of the meager copies they had once been.

"We can only wait now, Victoria Kell," said Guy. "There can be nothing done against him until _he_ does something wrong."

"_Stravag_," I spat angrily.

"Indeed."

Glancing sharply at Guy, I said, "So we wait."

"Aff."

"Joy."

"Not the word I would use."

"It's called sarcasm, Guy," I growled as I began to stalk towards my room.

"I know."

"_Grah!_ I can't take this!"

"Come with me," said Guy, placing one hand on my shoulder and steering me back in the direction we had just come from.

I blinked and looked curiously up at him.

"Guy?"

"You have anger to release, Victoria Kell," said Guy as he led me along. "To fight is an excellent way to do as such."

I frowned then a small grin started at the right side of my mouth.

"Guy," I said softly, "are you suggesting a match in the SIM's?"

"Indeed. I would prefer to be in an actual 'Mech but as you well know, your father did not allow such things."

"Right. Winner cooks dinner."

"Loser cooks dinner."

"Okay, loser cooks dinner and winner helps clean up."

The Jade Falcon looked down at me oddly then sighed and said, "Well bargained and done."

I grinned and stepped away from him, using two fingers on each hand to press the buttons that opened the SIM's as Guy moved across the room to the spare cooling vests that were now being stored nearby. He tossed one at me then pulled off the light gray wool jacket that I could barely ever recall seeing him without. The jacket bore the emblem of the Kell Hounds on its right breast, which made it a clone of the jackets some of the MechWarriors wore. But a small, very crudely made patch with a green falcon depicted in a stoop was sewn on the underside of the left cuff, which set his jacket apart from all the others.

I had made that patch when I was five after Guy had told me about where he had come from. That was why I was so enamored with the Clans. Because of him: my teacher, my friend, and my ally.

As I pulled my long-sleeved shirt over my head, revealing the thin sleeveless one I wore underneath, I glanced back at Guy. He had dropped his jacket by the side of the SIM he would be using and his shirt, which was of a thicker material than the jacket, had joined it. So now he was buckling his cooling vest over a broad, well-muscled chest riddled with scars – a few that I had put there myself in practice spars. My cheeks flushed with heat then and I bent to pick up my own cooling vest and buckled it hastily without looking at him.

Did I forget to mention I once had a very bad crush on him when I was thirteen?

"Are you prepared?" asked Guy as I gave the vest a downward tug to settle it.

"Aff," I replied before unlacing and toeing my boots off, tossing them over to join my shirt. I grimaced down at my pants then shrugged – they were made of light material and the heating system in the SIM's wasn't really up to par with those of a real 'Mech according to some of the pilots who'd been in them. They were good but not _that_ good.

Climbing into the SIM, I settled myself into the command couch then reached back up to the shelf above me to grasp the neurohelmet. Pulling it down, I settled it over my head, shifting it a bit until I could feel all of the sensors touching my head. After that I buckled it to the shoulders of my cooling vest then plugged both into the system, careful to keep snarls out of their cables as I wound them into their proper places.

Goosebumps rose all over my body as the cold liquid began to circulate through my vest. Frowning suddenly, I reached out and turned on the COM system, patching it in to Guy's SIM number.

"Guy," I asked slowly, "are these SIM's really like a 'Mech?"

There was a long moment where I assumed Guy was patching in to my own SIM then his voice came over my COM.

"The coolant should be much colder."

That made me chuckle as I pulled the nearly useless safety webbing across my chest then leaned forward to start the SIM running. The machine hummed to life underneath me and through the wall I heard Guy's start up as well.

"So," I asked, "what shall we play on today?"

"I leave it to you to choose," came Guy's response.

"Right." I frowned and tapped on my console, bringing up the folder that held the various locations that could be played in. As I scanned through them, looking for one to load up, I keyed in a sequence on another keyboard that would hook my SIM up to Guy's alone.

"How about we play a match on Twycross?" I asked after a moment of cycling through the planets in the system.

There was a long pause then Guy said, "In the Great Gash?"

"I figured one drop on one side and one on the other. Sound okay to you?"

"Aff."

"Okay," I said, pulling the planet up and logging in the location, which was in the middle of the Windbreak Mountains at the edge of the Plain of Curtains. Then I set up a drop zone on either side of the Gash then tapped the COM on again. "Log up a 'Mech and we'll get this party started."

There was silence from Guy but I could just barely hear the sound of keys tapping through my COM, so I figured he was pulling up the 'Mech logs. I pulled up my own and cycled through them. I frowned and sorted the list by tonnage, flipping through them until I came to the heavy class.

There was a beep from my console then and I glanced up to find a holographic _Vulture_ hovering near my targeting reticule. I recognized it as _Storm_, the _Vulture_ my mother has logged into the system not long after she had married my father and joined the Kell Hounds. Smirking, I flipped up to the 75-toners and pulled up the one _Marauder_ in the system.

"Tally ho," I murmured as the SIM hummed and completely loaded up the planet. A second later I was staring out through the ferroglass of the _Marauder_'s cockpit (whose name was _Tally-ho_, hence my earlier comment) and was dropping down onto Twycross. "You there, Guy?"

"Aff. I am hot dropping onto the planet."

"Right," I said just as I heard the clicks of the jets that were keeping my 'Mech from falling like a rock to the ground only moments before disengage. I gripped the controls then, waiting for the shock that I knew for a fact the SIM was going to give me once the _Marauder_ hit the ground. It came and _Tally_ stumbled before the neurohelmet fed my sense of equilibrium into the gyros and the _Marauder_ straightened up. I waited until the 'Mech was firmly standing then slowly eased the left throttle forward to start _Tally_ going then leaned up and flicked on the long-range sensor sweep.

The walls of the Great Gash loomed on my secondary viewing screen and on the other side of it, a small pulsing dot was labeled as 'SIM 12'. I smirked and pushed _Tally_'s throttle as far forward as it could go. The big seventy-five ton war machine lumbered its way up to 80 KPH and rushed towards the Gash. On the view screen, the 'SIM 12' dot was easing backwards whilst mine – which was labeled 'SIM 11' – was rushing towards it.

I knew Guy was going to hit me the second _Storm_'s LRM's locked onto me but I was fully prepared to charge out fighting. My thumb was resting lightly on the firing stud that would fire the Gauss Rifle _Tally_'s dorsal gun was equipped with, ready to let loose with it.

_Tally_ lumbered into the Gash and I slowly eased down as I made my way into the center of it. The simulator's had the complete stats of planets in its system; therefore, whatever was on the planet in reality was in the simulation. Which meant that the Black Widow's _Daishi_, which had fallen during the Great Refusal War between Clan Wolf and Clan Jade Falcon, should be lying in its grave in the Gash.

And it was.

I slowly _Tally _to a complete halt and stared down at the wrecked hulk. Neither Falcon nor Wolf had taken the machine from the field and it had become Khan Natasha Kerensky's grave and tombstone in one fatal swoop. Seeing the war machine whose name meant "Stalking Death" in such a state made one highly aware of how easily it could be _oneself_ lying dead in the wreck instead of the Wolf Khan.

Shivering a little, I carefully angled _Tally_ around the wreck, bowing my head as my war machine passed. I knew that I wasn't in the presence of the Black Widow's actual grave but still…even in the simulator, I felt a chill of fear at the realization of my own mortality and the tingle of being in the presence of something great.

Leaving the Black Widow's _Daishi_ behind me, I eased _Tally_ up to half her speed and moved on through the Gash. I kept a close eye on Guy's dot then swore as the warning siren that heralded weapon's lock rang through the SIM. With a jerk of the left throttle, I made to dodge right but the wave of LRM's Guy had loosed were too close. The missiles crashed hard into _Tally_'s left side, knocking her torso a bit cock-eyed and hauling off half of the armor there. I pulled up my armor damage screen and cursed at the mess of yellow that took up the left half of the war machine. Luckily there wasn't any red there, which meant the armor was still fairly intact. All in all, it could have been worse.

Switching back to long-range sensor, I thrust _Tally_ up to her full speed and came around the corner with my fingers on the stud for the Gauss Rifle and the one that would fire the war machine's four lasers – two Clan ER Medium's in her beam rack, a Clan Heavy Medium in the left arm, and another Clan Heavy Medium in the left torso. As I came around the corner of the Gash, _Storm_ loomed in my HUD. I shifted the weapons joystick and dropped the holographic targeting reticule on the _Vulture_, which was backpedaling and turning left. Shifting _Tally_ a bit to the left compensated for this and I pressed the two firing studs as one with a snarl.

The lasers in the beam rack and the left arm missed but the other two scored shots in _Storm_'s armor. The one hundred kilogram nickel-ferrous mass that was the Gauss slug slammed into the _Vulture_'s right torso and spun that part of the machine as far around as it would go.

I pulled up the enemy armor damage screen and grinned as I saw dim yellow on _Storm_'s left side and a small patch of red on its right torso. Flicking back to my sensors, I checked the weapons display screens out of the corner of my eye even as I pushed _Tally_ up to full speed and hauled my ass out a piece. A laser turned dirt half a kilometer behind me into smoke while the autocannon the _Vulture_ was equipped with tore up the ground just behind my _Marauder_'s feet. One of the autocannon's shots clipped the back of _Tally_'s left foot and she stumbled, making me shift to the right to compensate. The seventy-five ton war machine staggered but remained upright and I breathed a sigh of relief as I turned her back towards _Storm_, turning her torso about to try and find him.

A salvo of LRM's crashed into _Tally_'s side halfway during my turn, turning armor to worthless scrap and sending alarms ringing through my cockpit. Cursing, I kept moving in my turn until _Storm_ came under my crosshairs. The gold circle burned red thirty seconds later and I viciously punched the button that fired the Gauss Rifle in the dorsal gun. Above and slightly behind me, the Gauss Rifle rattled and spat out another nickel-ferrous round that sped towards the _Vulture_ with near perfect accuracy. The Gauss slug slammed into _Storm_'s leg, right where it was connected to the lower half of the war machine's chassis.

I looked and grinned when I saw that the _Vulture_ was now dragging its right leg, the armor completely slagged from the joint connecting it to the body of the war machine and the myomer muscles shredded. Hurriedly, I checked the damage where I'd been hit earlier and cursed when I saw that the right arm and the beam rack were completely slagged to hell and back. One of the two Clan ER Medium Laser's in the beam rack was still functioning at 40, which made it about as useful as a baseball bat against _Storm_, and the right arm was not only slagged but no longer there.

"Damnit," I cursed then harshly grabbed the throttle and jerked _Tally_ around to begin circling the limping _Vulture_. The fifteen ton heavier _Marauder_ was actually the slower of the two at eighty klicks to _Storm_'s eighty-five but with it's damaged leg, the other 'Mech wasn't going much of anywhere fast.

_Storm_'s torso turned slightly and the Clan ER Large Laser in its right arm came to life, slashing a line down _Tally_'s left side. Melted armor ran in long lines down my 'Mech's side but beyond that, the laser hadn't struck anything vital. Swinging my torso around, I began to zap _Storm_ with my two Clan Heavy Medium Laser's and sole Flamer, peppering it every now and then with the Clan Machine Gun the dorsal gun sported.

As I circled around and got set to fire off the Gauss Rifle again, sirens wailed a lock-on and I looked to see the missile pods of the _Vulture_ smoking. A second later the salvo took to the air and I swung _Tally_ about, trying to dodge as many of the missiles as I could. Only about seven or eight of the twenty missile salvo hit and slagged enough armor off the left side and back to set the armor display flashing red.

"_Savashri!_" I swore vehemently before moving _Tally _away from the limping _Storm_, who was powering up its laser again. My fingers flexed and above me the Gauss Rifle let loose with another slug at the same instant I fired my remaining lasers, Flamer, and Machine Gun.

Guy's laser demolished what remained of my already battered Heavy Medium Laser and overheated the other one. A glance at the enemy damage screen showed that all of the armor on the _Vulture_'s right side was gone and it would take a miracle to do any damage with what remained of the laser and LRM on that side.

The whine of weapons lock made me jerk _Tally_ to the left but that was exactly what Guy had wanted me to do. The spray of LRM's brutally battered at the _Marauder_, sending armor off the torso streaming in ribbons down its sides. My check of my own damage screen showed that it had also murdered my Gauss Rifle and I swore before turning the still functioning Machine Gun and Flamer on _Storm._

Guy's autocannon rattled to life then, peppering _Tally_'s lower half with its slugs. I aimed the laser in the right arm at his _Vulture_'s leg and fired in as quick a succession as I could, trying to dodge the autocannon as I did so.

The lower half of _Storm_'s leg sparked then gave out, causing the war machine to totter before it collapsed onto its side. I started to cry out in victory but a final spray from Guy's autocannon cut me off. The slugs hammered into the lower half of the _Marauder_'s chassis and suddenly I was falling.

It took me the moments in which the SIM shut itself down to figure out what had happened.

He'd slagged down my armor with his first shots then by a stroke of pure luck the last round from his autocannon had taken out my gyros!

Shaking my head ruefully, I unplugged everything and replaced the neurohelmet before climbing out of the SIM, stripping off the cooling vest as I did so. Guy smiled at me as he tugged on his shirt again and I glared at him. We replaced the cooling vests in silence and gathered up out discarded clothes, replacing them as we began to walk again.

"Okay, what do you want?" I finally asked when I grew tired of the man's persistent smile. Although _Storm_ had gone down first, _Tally_ had over all had the worse damage of the two war machines.

Hence, I lost our little bet.

Guy just smiled and replied, "I will let you decide what it is you shall cook."

A slow, sly smirk spread across my face at that and I purred, "Oh, you have no _idea_ what you just put yourself in for, Mister!" With that, I stalked off towards the kitchens, fully prepared to cook one of my father's more famous dishes that had quickly had my mother refusing to allow him to cook ever again.

Guy blinked after me and I dimly heard a passing Aidan say, "Be prepared to have your taste buds assaulted," before I passed beyond hearing range.

Cackling, I entered the kitchens and set about staking myself a place in which to prepare Guy's 'prize.'


	4. 16 September 3135, Kell Hound HQ

**Chapter 4**

**Kell Hound Headquarters, Arc-Royal**

**Arc-Royal Defense Cordon, Lyran Alliance**

**16 September 3135**

_Out of life's school of war: what does not destroy me makes me stronger._ – **Friedrich Nietzsche**

Betrayal tastes like acid and burns it's way through your veins in the same manner. It's like a knife buried within your gut and someone just keeps twisting it over and over, digging its edge into you again and again.

I was betrayed.

My father was betrayed.

My cousin was betrayed.

The Kell Hounds were betrayed.

My mother – my thrice-damned _savashri_ mother – betrayed us! The very flesh and blood I came from _betrayed_ our family!

Now she lies dead near my feet, the bodies of my siblings lying near her. The assassin that killed them hovers over me, his (I assumed from the build they were male) face hidden from my eyes by a mask. But it wasn't as though I was doing much seeing right then.

My life was trickling out into the carpet, mingling with that of my family. The blade buried within my stomach allowed this and I groaned as the assassin bent to twist the blade sadistically. His weight pressed down on my legs and he held my arms, allowing me no movement.

So despite the discomfort it caused, I did the only thing I could.

I spat in his face.

"Kill me and be _done_ with this, _surat_."

"You are not to be killed," intoned the assassin before he pulled the knife from my belly. I bet my lip to keep from screaming at the pain but he saw the motion and chuckled. "Injury, on the other hand, is an entirely different matter."

As he buried the blade within my body four more times, I began to slip into blissful unconsciousness. And what I could only hope would be death – a sweet release from the pain.

My siblings – the last thing I really wanted to live for – were dead. What more was there for me to fight for?

A throaty battle roar brought me briefly back to full consciousness and I bore witness to the sight of Guy hauling the assassin away from me by the back of his neck. They grappled, the black clothed man attempting to stab the Clansman with his already bloodied blade. I dimly saw Guy's eyes flick from the blade to me and back again.

He then slammed his hand into the assassin's solar plexus, knocking him backwards onto his back with the force of the blow. The assassin rolled to his feet, shaking his head at the blow, and threw his knife in the same instant. Guy slapped it aside, earning little more than a scratch on his already scarred hand, then lashed out with a spin kick that caught the assassin in the jaw. The man stumbled and retaliated with a fumbling roundhouse kick that Guy easily ducked. He grabbed the man's leg as it went over his head and twisted it sharply.

The sound of breaking bone was like the music of angels to my dying ears.

He then grabbed the assassin about the throat and shoved his own knife through his heart before the man could react. The corpse fell to the ground before it's last breath could escape it and then I was swept up in Guy's arms.

"Do not die," I heard him hiss dimly. "There are battles still to wage."

I tried to give him some kind of reassurance but my mouth refused to allow that. Instead I slipped into unconsciousness, which made Guy's already hurried steps sped up even more.

"I want her _found!_ NOW!"

"Yes, sir!"

The lieutenant snapped a salute then left the office, leaving Major James Hilton alone to glare at the wall and brood.

He had gotten rid of the woman who'd betrayed her husband for him thinking he'd really keep his word – like he'd keep his word to _her_ – and Thomas Kell's youngest children. But the one he'd wanted for himself had escaped.

And her damned Clansman had surely been the one to get her away from him and kill his assassin.

Cursing vehemently, he slammed his fist down on Thomas Kell's desk. A knock at the door made him turn his ire onto it and he shouted, "ENTER!"

A young man with a corporal's pin on his collar opened the door gingerly and poked his head in.

"Sir…"

"What is it, Corporal?" snarled Hilton, annoyed at the new intrusion upon his brooding.

"We've completed the assessment of the men and 'Mech's, sir."

"And?"

The corporal swallowed then nervously replied, "Captain Saul and the Walsh boy have gone missing, sir. The Captain's _Shadow Cat_ is also missing."

Hilton scowled and tapped his fingernails impatiently on the surface of the desk. He eyed the corporal angrily and hissed, "Is that all?"

"A small transport is also missing, sir. Lieutenant Grier suspects that Gu-the Clansman used it to leave. He also believes that he somehow convinced the Captain and Walsh to flee as well."

"I see. Corporal?"

"Yes, sir?"

"Put the base on lockdown and order the Techs to make sure no 'Mech, fighter, or vehicle will get out of here without us knowing." He pounded his fist down on the desk as he continued in a snarl, "And get me the men of the First Brigadiers!"

The young man frowned and said, "Your men, sir?"

"The Clansman had no way to get off planet so he only had one place to take the girl. We're going to scour the ranks and clean out anyone who so much as says a kind word about that little bitch. Then we're going to go and demand her and her damned Clansman back."

"Demand them back from who, sir?"

Hilton bared his teeth in a parody of a grin and replied, "Where else would they run but to the Wolves?"


End file.
